"no one's good luck lasts forever."

"A person would not be able to live in this world if not for the bit of goodness that he has seen with his own eyes-th…"

"When a person lies in a fever, he keeps nothing hidden. When a person's head is burning, his tongue loosens."

"There were always guests at Bashke's table: merchants conducting business with her husband, emissaries soliciting for…"

"It was one of those blessedly beautiful afternoons at Brighton Beach, when the sky is so distinctly clear, it was as …"

"If Mr. Kasher could have gotten rid of just one word in the English language, he would have banished the word funny. …"

"When a person gets rich suddenly, it's not so much apparent in any one thing so much as it is in his eyes and his lap…"

"I wrote the stories included in this book in the last fifteen years. From a world that vanished most dreadfully, and …"

"One rich man is drawn to another."

"She eats with obedient earnestness down to the very last crumb, as if she were finishing praying."